Kim Kardashian: Birthday Butt Bonanza! [60 Photos—-The Early Years]

Kim Kardashian turns 33 years old today–so she should be pretty proud that her ass is still making headlines. In fact, that should be Kim’s response to anyone who’s offended by her recent selfie. “Hey,” Kim should say, “I”m allowed to show off my ass because people want to see it!” And we do, and we have, most recently thanks to Kim showing off her awesome assets via Instagram. This was the first time her booty has debuted since having Kanye West‘s kid, and it was the selfie click heard around the world. Needed a wide lens, too…

But, you ask, how did that big booty become so culturally relevant? Well, it didn’t all begin with Kanye West. In fact, we’re going to celebrate Kim Kardashian’s birthday by enjoying her assets before she even met the father of her child. It’s always fun to dwell on Kim’s past, since you can baffle a lot of people by reminding them that Kim Kardashian got her start as a porn star. That was back in the days when people believed that sex tapes could be leaked and then merchandised without severe legal consequences. Yeah. We’ve sat in on negotiations over leaked sex tapes. Everyone knows better now, right?

Yet the official story remains that Kim Kardashian was just beginning to get known as Paris Hilton’s best friend through the miracle of reality television when–OMG–a sex tape that Kim made with Brandy Norwood’s brother Ray J ended up being sold in stores. That was in 2007, although the tape was supposedly shot in 2003. The important thing is that people saw that tape (more than who’d ever admit) and saw something very special about Kim Kardashian. The perfectly respectable E! Network met Kim’s family and kicked off Keeping Up With the Kardashians–and, to promote the show, Kim appeared in the pages of Playboy.

Everything’s been strictly legit since then. Kim’s even having her birthday usurped by sister Kourtney, who’s announced a new clothing line with things like lace jumpers and metallic sequin jackets. So klassy. Of course, COED has been covering Kim and the other assorted Kardashians just like everyone else. Attention had to be paid when Kim took a bikini to the Dominican Republic, and we’ve carefully compiled her sexiest Twitpics. We were there when Kim lounged in lingerie, too–but let’s start this private birthday party with Kim’s brilliant butt, which is featured in this massive gallery starring America’s favorite reality celeb–and her ass…